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Thursday, 10 July 2014

Disconnected

At some point during our spiritual journeys it seems to happen, maybe even more than once - the disconnection.

It seems to creep up gradually...all of a sudden you wake up one day and realise that you haven't 'connected' with your spiritual side in a long while. It is easily done - in today's busy and hectic lifestyles with everything that life likes to throw at us especially if you are a working mum/dad/wife/husband juggling all the everyday stuff.

It is a question I get asked a lot "I have lost my spiritual connection, my spark - how do I get it back?" - sometimes it isn't easy and I have those disconnection times too.

I actually don't think social media helps, you log onto facebook in the morning and see that everyone has been out to moots and meetings, rituals and events - all having a wonderful time connecting with all things spiritual and interacting with fellow pagans. For some people that isn't always possible to do, you may not drive, you may not have baby sitters, you may work evenings/weekends and it can be quite disheartening.

Disconnection can make you feel empty and lost. You begin to question your journey and whether this is the right path for you, you wonder if/why the goddess has abandoned you - she hasn't...she is still there, waiting for you to find your thread again.

How do you re-connect? There is no sure fire 'one size fits all' answer...sorry. However there are suggestions. Simple ones are to step outside, even if it is just on your half hour lunch break from work, take your sandwiches outside and sit in your garden, the local park even a bench in the town centre - somewhere that you can connect with the elements. And just sit, quietly...open yourself up to nature, it might just be a sad spindly tree in the middle of the shopping centre but connect with it.

Meditation is also good, I know we probably all don't have the time to slip into our yoga pants, light incense and candles and 'om' for hours...but just five minutes in the morning, on your lunchbreak, in the toilet or the shower can be beneficial - not in the car though coz that would be dangerous...just a few minutes to run through a grounding and centring exercise is better than nothing.

Stand outside at night time and look up at the moon, connect with the goddess and ask for her guidance. Or stand outside in the sunshine (don't look directly at the sun...ouch) and ask the god for his guidance.

I find that clearing, cleaning and re-dressing my altar helps as well, just the actions of cleaning it all and putting a fresh cloth over and fresh flowers makes me feel better. Even if you only have a tiny altar, give it a dust and move the items around on it.

Smudge your house and yourself, you don't have to use smudge sticks if you don't have them you can use incense sticks or even salt & water - give your home a good spiritual cleanse.

Pick up a spiritual book, it might be one you haven't read for ages or one that you purchased and popped on the shelf to 'read later' and never got around to. Open the book randomly, see what page it falls to.

If you are able to join in with local moots, events or rituals then go for it - most groups are extremely welcoming of newcomers, check out your area and see what's going on.

If you can't get out there are a huge number of facebook groups and pages and the internet has lots of forums for like minded people.

Pick up your tarot or oracle cards and do a reading for yourself, if you have crystals get them out and give them a cleanse and work with them.

If you have like minded friends talk to them, they will understand and they will be able to help. Likewise if you are part of a coven then talk to your High Priestess, she is there to help with any problems you have.

It might take a while to get back into the swing of things, work with it gradually, build it up slowly...if it is the right path for you to follow it will all fall back into place when you are ready.